I saw a film called Delicatessen when I was in college that changed how I felt about movies forever. It’s from two French directors (Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet) and is about a post-apocalyptic apartment building where tenants who fail to pay rent are turned into lunch meat for the deli. Yes, it’s a bit of a horror movie but Delicatessen is also a black comedy and, believe it or not, a tender love story. It showed me that, in the right circumstances, a movie can be a little bit of everything and still pull it off in the most spectacular way.
I think that writer-director Guillermo del Toro must have been watching Delicatessen when he conceived The Shape of Water.
It stars Sally Hawkins as Elisa, a housekeeper at a hidden government laboratory where she discovers a top-secret asset. Is it a dangerous monster, or something far more human? A surprising relationship forms between the two as the Russians close in and a battle over the discovery ensues. Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Richard Jenkins and Michael Stuhlbarg round out what’s sure to be an Oscar nominated cast.The Shape of Water is a beast of a movie, managing to be a little bit of everything and achieving it all. It’s weird and funny, sadder and sexier that anything I’ve seen in ages (probably since I watched Delicatessen in that college theater so many years ago).
It’s not often that I can give away passes to one of my Top 5 Movies of the Year, but I can today. Continue reading →

I’m a big fan of scary movies. I’ll watch my favorites like “Jaws” or “The Conjuring” over and over again because they play to my irrational fears of being eaten by sharks or chased by clapping ghosts. Then you have movies like “Still Alice,” which are a different kind of scary movie. These are even worse because they play on real, very rational fears. Continue reading →

There it is ladies and gentlemen! The only halfway decent photo I got of Bradley Cooper at the “American Sniper” Red Carpet Premiere in Plano. He came whizzing by like a well-coiffed dust-devil and I barely got a glimpse of him, much less the Bradley-Cooper-Selfie I so desperately desired. I fared far better than most of the media people though. They had been PROMISED a few moments with Bradley Cooper, only to watch him glide right by. I’m not gonna lie. That sucks. Continue reading →

JULIE FISK IS A MARRIED MOTHER OF TWO AND A HUGE FAN OF FAMILY, FOOD & FILM. SHE CLAIMS TO BE A FITNESS ENTHUSIAST AS WELL, BUT SHE MIGHT JUST LIKE WEARING THE CLOTHES. AFTER 25 YEARS IN RADIO, JULIE FOUND HERSELF WITHOUT A MICROPHONE TO VOICE HER OPINIONS. WHERE WOULD SHE GO TO SHARE HER THOUGHTS & VIEWS (AKA- BITCH & MOAN)? HENCE THIS WEBSITE. THANK GOD FOR THE INTERNET.